Journal

CDR: Lord Justice Jackson's legacy

Following Lord Justice Jackson’s recent retirement, Andy Ellis reviews his legacy in CDR, after a decade of costs reform.

In the article, Andy argues that costs budgeting has been broadly accepted, and indeed is bedding in and here to stay. However, damages-based agreements remain unpopular, particularly in higher-cost and higher-risk commercial litigation where there is reluctance to stake the whole of a side’s costs on the outcome. Conditional fee arrangements are seen by many as a safer option. Furthermore, the stand-back proportionality test remains ill-defined, with a lack of guidance available.

Andy concludes that the largest barrier to reform remains the lack of resources in the court system which delays active case management.